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Forget bindweed, crabgrass and thistle. You’ve got a bigger problem in your garden:

Gnomes.

“You’ll find them showing up in the herb garden, then in the vegetable garden, and pretty soon, in the annuals and perennials,” explains Jerry Goodspeed of Utah State University Extension’s Ogden Botanical Garden. “Once established, they’re very difficult to control.”

Of course, if you’ve ever seen those red hats popping up in your own yard, no one needs to tell you about the threat they pose. Waiting around and hoping the problem will resolve on its own is a bad idea.

“If left unchecked, they can out-compete other lawn ornaments and other parts of the landscape,” adds Goodspeed, cautioning that your urban ecology could truly suffer ill effects from such an infestation.

Luckily, he offers solutions too. We highly recommend you check out the video to learn more.

Many people have used the term “urban ecology” in many different ways, but in order to truly improve the ecosystems inside our cities, we need to settle on a streamlined definition.

Ever noticed how if you say something enough, the sounds start to lose meaning?

Try it. Say your own name over and over again. Guaranteed, after no more than 30 seconds, you’ll start to think, “Huh. Well, that’s a weird, pointless sound. Wonder what Mom and Dad were thinking?”

Buzz phrases such as sustainable, green and organic have suffered a similar fate: overuse sliding right into meaninglessness. Ditto conservation, energy efficiency, blah blah blah.

Oh, and urban ecology, of course.

In recent decades, we have built a new framework of understanding regarding the ecological sphere represented by our cities. Now urban ecology programs are helping us to make that sphere healthier and more sustainable.

The new millennium has seen a major shift in thinking about our cities.

Formerly, our view of the urban environment was of a place apart from the wilderness – little islands scattered in a sea of Mother Nature. Today, though, we understand the impossibility of separating cities from the natural world. We’re all one, really.

If only Biggie and Tupac could have shared that attitude, I mean, you know?

Hip-hop gang wars aside, this represents a new and more useful way of envisioning the metropolitan environments in which we live. This new vision gives us the ability and the duty to institute urban ecology programs that will keep it as healthy as possible.

While the word “monoculture” conjures up images of endless wheat fields and rows of soybeans, the problem is severe inside our cities as well.

If you spend about three seconds in Michael Pollan’s head, you’ll get a raft of invective against monoculture.

Seriously, we do not want to be within five miles of the cage match between him and GMO corn. It’s just not pretty.

Yet though important, this highly publicized debate has had an unintended negative consequence: It has left the lingering impression that rural agriculture is the only sphere in which we must worry about monoculture.

That couldn’t be farther from the truth. Monoculture affects our cities significantly as well – and more importantly, the plants and wildlife that used to thrive there.

What is urban ecology? Simply put, it’s the exploration of relationships between plants, animals, you and me – right here in our cities.

Pop quiz: What do you call the combination of squirrels and bees, grasses and wildflowers, your rooftop, a glass of Prosecco and you?

No, it’s not “a really dope summer afternoon.” Although that too.

The phrase we’re looking for here is “urban ecology,” which refers to the study of ecosystems within cities. If your immediate response to this is something along the lines of, “Wait, what is urban ecology? And also can we get back to that rooftop drinks thing?”

… then we don’t blame you. It’s a confusing concept, mainly because while most of us learned the basic meaning of ecology in school, there exists a sharply perceived divide between city and countryside. Sure, there’s all sorts of wildlife out there, but here within the figurative city walls?

Notsomuch.

Luckily, that’s a misperception. There’s all sorts of good schtuff going on here in our urban spaces. Even better, if we learn to cultivate and safeguard wildlife right here in the city, we’ll see benefits to ourselves, to animals and to the world.

Common perception holds that there exists a fundamental divide between city and wildlife, but is that true? Let’s talk ways to keep urban ecology sustainable.

Pop quiz: What do you and the American mink have in common?

Hopefully not a full-body pelt, because that could harm your chances with the ladies.

Nope, the correct answer is you’re both denizens of midwestern urbanized areas. (Or at least, we assume you are, since that’s where most loyal members of the Ecogardens community live.)

The real answer we’re looking for, though, is that you both make up a vital part of your local urban ecology, and you both contribute to keeping urban ecology sustainable.

At least, that’s the goal, and the subject of today’s post.